Best Self Magazine

Self Confidence vs. Self Esteem: Unlocking Your Truest Power

Self Esteem, Self Confidence, Self Worth, by Sara Fabian. Photograph by Timothy Eberly

Photograph by Timothy Eberly

Believing in our self worth and seeing ourselves as ‘good enough’ paves the path to our inner and outer abundance

We often talk about stepping into our true power, building our confidence muscle, and boosting our self-esteem. However, the difference between self-confidence and self-esteem is not clear for many. I felt confused about these two terms before digging into psychology research and learned that although these two terms are very similar — they both refer to how we feel about ourselves — they are two different concepts:

  • Self-esteem refers to how we generally feel about ourselves. How much we like or love ourselves and the overall image we have about who we are, positive or not. Our self-esteem is shaped by past experiences and the environment we grew up in: our family members, our school, and our community.
  • is related to how we feel about our abilities and how capable

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Best Self Magazine

Best Self Magazine4 min read
Love and Heartache: An Unfathomable Separation of Mother and Child
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes — 1970 in pre-Choice America. The lonely only child of a high-ranking naval officer and a socially ambitious mother, after our eighth move in thirteen years, I longed for a normal adolescence — to have lasting frien
Best Self Magazine5 min read
Chasing Happy: 3 Steps to Life-Long Transformation
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes — It started with a simple question: “Mommy, can I give you a goal this year?” At the time I was working long stressful hours leading a large client relationship for an advertising agency while balancing having two
Best Self Magazine7 min read
How Cancer Helped Me Let Go of Fear and Make Deep Connections
Estimated reading time: 10 minutes — I am a two-time breast cancer survivor, but my story is not really about cancer and its trials. It’s about how cancer taught me that humor, nature, exercise and relationships with both family and “found family” h

Related